Abstract
There is an absence of major top-down reforms in Slovenian local self-government system. Thus there is an ongoing debate on whether time should be vested into bottom-up organic creation of local self-government system or if no more time should be lost and national reform should impose objectives for more economic and efficient local self-government system. Slovenia should be a poster child for inter-municipal cooperation, due to extreme heterogeneity of municipal sizes, resulting in a number of small municipalities that are struggling to meet regulatory demands and standards. This coupled with the absence of regions, should make for flourishing grounds for inter-municipal cooperation. This chapter presents how sound arguments for establishment of inter-municipal cooperation do not always result favourably—as in vibrant and productive web of inter-municipal cooperation.
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Notes
- 1.
Prebilič and Bačlija (2013) presented a research on administrative capacity of Slovene municipalities and concluded that when levels of administrative capacity are correlated with the sizes of municipalities (according to the number of inhabitants) small and also medium municipalities (with up to 10,000 inhabitants) tend to have either a medium or a lower level of administrative capacity, and larger ones (with more than 10,000 inhabitants) have a middle to high level of administrative capacity. Very small municipalities (with less than 5000 inhabitants) prove to be especially problematic in this respect as 90 per cent of them show a low or medium level of administrative capacity. This would imply that smaller (under 5000 inhabitants) municipalities would be more inclined to inter-municipal cooperation, as they struggle to perform even basic services.
- 2.
Not shared by the author of this article.
- 3.
This was a “package” of five law proposals: Law on regions, Law on regional finances, Law on elections to regional bodies, Law on the constituencies for the first regional elections, Law on competence transfer (decentralization). Additionally, amendments to other legislation that is linked to regionalization were proposed simultaneously.
- 4.
Self-governing local communities shall voluntarily cooperate with each other for the purpose of joining forces to regulate and conduct local matters of public importance. For this purpose, they may merge their funds and, in accordance with the law, set up joint bodies and joint municipal administration bodies, establish and manage funds, public institutes, public companies and institutions, and link together to form communities, unions and associations.
“Self-governing local communities, and their communities, unions and associations may also co-operate with local communities from other countries and with international organisations of local communities” (Article 6).
- 5.
“The municipality may not perform duties for another municipality which are by law or according to other regulations the duties of the municipal administration. Municipalities may decide to establish one or more bodies of joint municipal administration. A body of joint municipal administration shall be established when a general act on its founding is passed by the municipal councils on the joint proposal of the mayors of the municipalities” (Article 49a).
- 6.
A municipality shall guarantee the performance of local public services which it has determined by itself and public services determined by law (local public services). The provision of local public services shall be ensured by municipalities:
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directly within the framework of municipal administrations
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by setting up public institutions and public companies
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by granting concessions
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by investing their own capital in activities performed by persons in private law
For the purpose of ensuring public services more economically and efficiently, two or more municipalities may jointly set up a public institution or public company (Article 61).
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- 7.
For the purposes of regulating individual local affairs of wider importance, exercising common interests and protecting the position of self-governing local communities, municipalities may set up communities, unions or associations of municipalities. The acts on founding a community, union or association shall set out its tasks, bodies and financing. An association of municipalities may acquire the status of a national association. This status shall be granted by the government once it has been determined that the association consists of more than half the municipalities, whose population must total no fewer than half of the population of the country, and that the association, in accordance with the founding act, performs tasks relating to representation and cooperation between the association’s municipalities and national bodies, international organisations of self-governing communities and other international organisations (Article 86).
- 8.
Second chamber of the Parliament is the National Council, which is the representative body for social, economic, professional and local interests (basically an upper chamber). It is composed of: representatives of labour and social interests (functional interests)—representatives of local interests (territorial interests). Thus to some extent, territorial interest is represented.
- 9.
According to the Law on the financing of municipalities (Article 26), there are four services that can be subsidised:
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Municipal inspectoral oversight and traffic constabulary
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Internal financial revision and accounting
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Spatial planning tasks
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Various tasks for establishing and running public sector organisation
Legal provisions are rather flexible (e.g. various tasks) and, consequently, there are some areas that are a subject of subsidies although they are not specifically mentioned in the Law. It depends on the explanation and argumentation of the Governmental Office for Local self-government on whether individual services can be understood as services of cooperative nature (e.g. spatial planning, EU funds management, etc.).
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References
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Bačlija-Brajnik, I. (2018). Inter-municipal Cooperation in Slovenia: An Intermediate Step Towards Regionalisation. In: Teles, F., Swianiewicz, P. (eds) Inter-Municipal Cooperation in Europe. Governance and Public Management. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62819-6_13
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